AIBU to get annoyed at drivers who let me out of side streets or in traffic?

[Manchestermanchester]

I turn right into work every day. There is a turning lane and there are many business where I work. The traffic coming towards me isn’t bad as there is a set of traffic lights that keeps the traffic light.

However I’m always getting flashed to turn right when I don’t see the point - I can wait an extra few seconds for cars to pass.

This annoys me because I’ve already got it in my mind to turn right when the road is clear (it’s never more than a few cars). It’s not just a simple case of turning right as soon as I get flashed - I have to look to see there are no cyclists (we have plenty), that there are no pedestrians are crossing the road and check again to make sure the road is also clear and the driver has travelled at speed to me and will crash into me. Waiting for a few cars to pass, which takes a few seconds seems the preferable way.

There is also the insurance issue. If I turned and I crashed into the other car, or indeed a car that stopped in front of the car letting me out, I’m at fault. Furthermore I might get rear ended. Plus I don’t flash people a thank you for letting me through. It’s too easy to mistake that for “come over through” plus I’ve got to have both hands on the steering wheel.

No doubt I’ll get a bunch of people saying I’m rude or whatever, are you going to pay for my insurance claim?

It IS being nice, even if not fully thought through or obvious in its consequences. Stop being an awful person like many on here who moan about someone doing something polite or courteous that somehow 'annoys' them.

As a professional driver, you need to get off the roads. You are the danger.
What an idiot

More than happy for you not to come to our neck of the woods!

If you do fancy coming to London best leave the car at home. From what I have experienced, different areas have different conventions and levels of aggressiveness, and so on. I don't think you'd cope very well.

The underground and bus services are excellent though so you don't need to give the capital a serve entirely. Although some of the buses you see might put their hazards on briefly, to say thank you... Am opportunity to educate the bus drivers of have thought!

I like that someone had said they will avoid London because they don't like drivers letting each other out, that's properly funny

The standard practices and courtesies in city of London would have you freaking out entirely!

Buses cabs cars Vans pedestrians bicycles scooters all nipping around all over the place in and out of each other. Arrrgh!

@MinniesAndMickeysNeedCounting that is the fault of the person who pulled out and didn't check properly, not the person who flashed. I don't see how you all can't understand this?!

I especially like the “I can’t possibly say thanks as I have to keep both hands on the steering wheel”.

I’m assuming you drive an automatic then OP as otherwise you must crawl along in first gear? 🤔😂

My road is a bit of a rat run. There's often a bunch of cars parked outside my neighbours house, narrowing the road so cars need to wait in front of my drive to let each other past. Quite often I get flashed to go by and then the car proceeds to block my driveway and wait for me.

Some get really annoyed when I put my indicator on to turn into my driveway and flash them to please go on. It's like they were trying to do a favour and I threw it back at them by living in that particular house!

You don't have to live in London to experience busy roads and drivers flashing to let you out. Its just courteous behaviour that you can acknowledge and ignore, if its offends you.
All I can say is there are some weird fuckers on this site. Don't like people being helpful, won't open doors without 2 weeks prior notice and would take 15 buses back to a shop to pay 10p for a carrier bag they forgot to pay for. Spend enough time on here and I start feeling weird for not thinking this way.

I would bet there is a correlation between polite drivers and people that cannot parallel park and back off their drives into traffic.

I'm a very polite driver - I can't stand those who drive as though they're the only ones using the road. If I can help somebody along at no or virtually no cost to myself, it just seems to me like the natural thing to do. Obviously not to everybody, though.

As it happens, if I do say so myself, I'm extremely good at parallel parking and I would never drive forwards on to my driveway - always reverse on and then drive off.

Incidentally, the HC is for ALL road users and not just motorists. I have a question to those who think being considerate is a wantonly maverick breaking of the rules and certain to end in death or at least an insurance claim: if you were driving along in an endless stream of town-speed traffic going one way (with the other direction completely clear or a pedestrian refuge in the middle) in the pouring rain, and saw a person who was disabled/elderly/vulnerable/a parent with a pushchair waiting to cross the road ahead of you, but with no sufficient gaps for their reduced speed, would you seriously not slow down slightly and gesture them to cross, indicating that you would provide a safe gap for them, before accelerating back to your position closer to the car in front? Would you honestly maintain your speed and make them wait for maybe ten minutes, as you believe that they need to obey the HC and being kind and considerate to them would make you a bad, dangerous driver?

Do you also angrily shake your fists at 3yo children cycling slowly next to their parents on the pavement, because according to the HC, they MUST only cycle on the road or a designated cycle path?

I seriously get the impression that some people on MN, if asking for four iced buns or doughnuts just before closing time at the bakery and being told by the baker "There are only five left, so I'll pop the last one in as well for you, no charge", would turn purple and start raging at him/her for single-handedly fuelling the nationwide obesity epidemic, report them forthwith to the NHS and picket the local council, demanding that they close them down immediately.

Sounds to me like you’re not a confident driver if this really concerns you

@Booksandwine80 no I wish people would follow the road rules to make driving safe. Today I had my left hand signal on after Crossing a lane after a roundabout. I was waiting for the bus lane to end so I could go into that lane yet the car behind comes on my inside despite my left hand signal, I’m at the max speed limit and it’s a bus lane. Follow the rules.

Also I was flashed whilst on the motorway by a lorry, was he letting me into the lane, or was he angry at me for overtaking dangerously?

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll your example of disabled people is on the opposite end of my gripe. However how far are people away from traffic lights/safe areas to cross?

Letting someone out despite you being the only other driver on the road is stupid.

Also when you are a pedestrian you are waiting to cross the road and a car flashes to let you go but it's not safe because traffic is coming in the opposite direction. Then the driver gets huffy for waiting.... Just go I'm not getting myself run over so you feel good about letting me cross. Or when you have a pram in the exact same situation and you would rather that car go so you don't have to struggle off of the path and across rushing as they are waiting when you were happy to.wait 30 seconds for the car to just go and not struggle